Former UK safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has called on the government to back technology that would block livestreamed child sexual abuse on phones, tablets and laptops, the BBC reported¹.

Speaking at the launch of a policy report in Parliament, Phillips said device-level blockers could stop such material being filmed and viewed, according to the BBC¹. The BBC said the National Crime Agency has identified the UK as the third-biggest market in the world for livestreamed abuse, in which children are abused on camera to order¹.

Phillips, who left the safeguarding post in May after complaining of delays on child sexual abuse work, said she wanted ministers to extend on-device blocking of such material to every device sold in Britain¹. "This should be a source of national shame, and we must stop it," the Labour MP said, according to the BBC¹.

The BBC said the software would use AI in a phone's operating system to classify known child-abuse images and block material as it is viewed or created, across apps¹. Nothing is logged, stored or sent, the report said, and proponents say it would work with encryption¹. Anti-abuse campaigners argued keeping the technology on the device protects privacy; civil liberties group Big Brother Watch disputed that, the BBC reported¹.

The government has already legislated to require firms such as Apple and Google to block under-18s from taking or sharing nude images on devices, the BBC said¹. The Internet Watch Foundation found in 2025 research that three-quarters of child sexual abuse material was not self-generated and was likely captured on adult devices, according to the BBC¹.

Phil Eccles of the National Crime Agency told the briefing the scale was "at crisis point" and that blocking could cut off a UK user's ability to direct a livestream of abuse, the BBC reported¹. Conservative former minister Lord Nash urged the government to extend its commitment on children's phones to every device sold in Britain, targeted at such material¹.

John Tanagho of the International Justice Mission said legislation should limit scans to child sexual abuse material, with no data shared with government or private companies, the BBC reported¹. A government spokesperson said the UK was putting in place strong online safety laws, including planned rules to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images, and would give police powers to keep pace with criminal use of new technology¹.